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Bob Barker said he never meant to disparage his replacement as host of “The Price of Right,” Drew Carey, a day after calling the funnyman not “exciting.”

“He’s a charming man, and kind and gracious,” Barker told EW.com. “To think that I would say anything derogatory about him is idiocy.”

On Tuesday, the retired 35-year host was caught on tape giving a TMZ cameraman his two cents on the state of the long-running game show on CBS with Carey at the helm.

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“I tried to make the show really exciting and uh, he doesn’t do that,” Barker said. “He plays the games.”

Barker told EW Wednesday that he “would be a fool” to slam Carey, in part because he has a financial stake in the show's continued success.

“I would not criticize Drew Carey. I would not criticize this show. I would not criticize CBS … because I have a sizable royalty that I am paid every year this show is on, and it’s going on for years,” Barker said. “I would be an absolute fool. I hope this show stays on for years.”

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In June 2007, Barker capped a 50-year career in showbiz -- including 6,586 episodes on the CBS game show -- by relinquishing his long, slender mike to Carey.

Barker said Wednesday that when he turned the show over to Carey, he told him to host it his way.